Welcome Weeds

Dandelions and Sunflowers...
Why do we hate one and love the other?

Except for the obvious size thing these guys have a lot in common. They're both yellow, they bloom where they're least expected. This time of year, wild sunflowers decorate the highways wherever I go. So, in a sense, they are both weeds. Why don't we start a new movement to embrace Dandelions the way we do Sunflowers? Then I could go ride my horse instead of weed the garden...

I have lots of annual sunflowers this year, thanks to messy birds. But, my perennial sunflowers are blooming up a storm, too.

Heliopsis: False Sunflowers are shorter (about 3 feet) blooming in tidy clumps through August and September. (USDA zones 3-8)

Helianthus: Annual Sunflowers also have a zone 4 perennial variety that wakes up the fall garden. Helianthus maximiliana grows 7-8 feet tall and is loaded with small yellow flowers. I love this variety because the stalks are so strong that the flower heads don't droop.

Planting the two together gives you a perennial sunflower patch that can bloom for 2-3 months.

Hmmm...
There are 60 million gardeners in America. If we all agreed to like Dandelions, we could start a new movement and we'd have a lot more time on our hands! :)